Everyone Knows how much of a bummer the sky f1 deal was for us fans here in uk, i recently have come up with my latest solution and most efficient. A channel called Network Ten HD offers free to air f1 coverage down under but crucially also has an online stream; they use the Sky F1 commentary and therefore is a perfect alternative to paying for Sky sports.

However there is an issue, if you try watching the stream from here in the uk, it blocks you and says due to copyright issues bla bla you can not view this stream from your current location. I have been working for a solution for days and have come close at times, but still havnt found one. A software called a VNP changes your IP address which enables you to watch foreign content, but there are a few that allow access to an Australian IP most of which you have to pay a couple of pounds.

If someone already has a VNP software for Australia, please share; any comments are welcome

I’m not gonna give details but as somebody in the USA I’ve watched atleast part of each weekend on Sky, well a stream of the SkyF1 channel… They’re not really that hard to find if you know how to use Google (and since you appear to know what Proxies are I’m gonna guess you know how to use Google l0l).

Ironic really, considering that Australians usually try to find feeds from other countries to avoid the Australian coverage. It will be interrupted by ads, and if my previous experience streaming anything off Australian TV websites holds, it will be poor quality and constantly buffering.
As for legality, the VPN issue is a grey one as I understand it. It breaks the company’s terms of service, but I don’t think the legality has ever been fully tested. Assume it’s not however.

The Australian coverage of Formula 1 is horrible. I would know as I live in Australia and have watched all of the races this year. The Austrlian coverage is interupted by ads every 10 laps and has voice overs from the Australian commentators that interupt the Sky Sports coverage.

Don’t even bother. We don’t get any practice sessions, our broadcaster usually shows the race on the standard-definition channel (rarely the HD channel), the online option (for me) usually crashes and the co-hosts are pretty useless.
Not to mention the love for commercial breaks the network have.
“Something exciting happening? Lets go to a break”.
“The race is about to start? Lets go to a break”.
“Welcome back to our coverage! Lets go to a break”.

The Austrlian coverage is interupted by ads every 10 laps and has voice overs from the Australian commentators that interupt the Sky Sports coverage.

Also, our commentators are morons. They’ve gotten better in recent years – I suspect the network has intervened and told them to stop babbling – but that’s like saying getting shot through the heart is better than getting shot in the stomach because it’s a quicker, less-painful death. Watch a race with them in the box seat, and you’ll be wishing the BBC got Jonathon Legard and James Allen together full-time.

Here is an introduction to the trained apes you can look forward to if you watch on One:

Leading this assault on the senses is Greg Rust, He of the Dramatic Soliloquy, who narrates the season as if it’s Masterpiece Theatre. He is also apparently getting paid extra for every time he can squeeze in a mention of “Australia’s Mark Webber”, who is the only driver he seems to be able to recognise.

His right-hand man is Darryl Beattie, who is perhaps the best, most insightful commentator of the lot … which isn’t really that impressive, given that he is a former motorcycle racer (but at least he has the sense to keep his analogies out of it).

Filling out the line-up is Craig Baird, a Carrera Cup driver who is only really good for crashing in Singapore. He never really says much at all, except for generic comments and passing an opinion at the end of the segment. He also interviews James Allen and Tom Clarkson (who are at the circuit) for the funal updates before qualifying and the race, but mostly just asks them about headlines taken from Autosport.

Finally, mediocre former V8 Supercar driver Cameron McConville was a part of the commentary line-up until recently, and now he is only brought out to fill in a gap in the line-up. McConville, who was never much of a driver to begin with, seems to resent Formula 1 drivers for being in Formula 1 when he is not. His attitude seems to be the main reason why he was benched.

Perhaps the most telling incident of their sheer unprofessionalism came late last year when a basketball game on One HD went overtime and started eating into the pre-race show for the Indian (or possibly Abu Dhabi; I can’t remember exactly which one) Grand Prix. Someone forgot to turn off the camera showing the live stream on the One HD website, and the end result was that we got twenty minutes of Rust, Baird and McConville mocking and abusing the basketball commentators and players, completely unaware that they were being broadcast live.

@prisoner-monkeys has covered some of the very valid reasons we Aussies suffer through F1. Add “Australia’s Daniel Riccardo” to “Australia’s Mark Webber”. Also the drop from HD to SD this year really shows.
When the Sky/Beeb feed fails, we have to suffer through their commentary, which is just them recounting exactly what we can see on our screens. And they also make James Allen look professional and impartial, which is a feat in and of itself. They have improved somewhat in recent years however, with the exception of Baird. They also make sure to flood the home GP coverage with vacuous interviews (Qantas Lounge) and insipid ads for doomed to failed breakfast TV shows.

As for ads every 10 laps, that’s obviously working on last year’s schedule. Since it moved to channel 10 from One HD, we get at least 6 ad breaks during short races, more for longer ones. They usually hold off for the first and last 15 minutes, which means we are lucky to get 6 uninterrupted laps of coverage during the middle portion of the race. Silverstone 2011: “We’ll wait for Button’s pit stop, and there you go, ad break time” while ignoring the fact that his wheel was falling off while driving out of the pits. I managed to bring up a stream off the net before they were even back from the ad break.

The sad thing is, this is easily the best coverage of F1 Australia has ever got. I shudder to think what would happen if Channel 9 ever got the coverage back.